Blurb:

Pierce is homeless.
Young and strong-willed Pierce has been living in the streets of New York City for six months, since his parents kicked him out of their perfect, Christian, suburban house. Pierce is gay. And he is suffering the consequences for being true to himself.

Rafe is homeless.
He is also sick. Impressionable, but far from innocent, Rafe ran away from home almost a year ago. His sickness is slowly killing him. But Rafe is not a hopeless case. He has learned to get by. Nights of paid passion turn to sheltering warmth from the imminent New York winter.

And then there’s a suitcase. Pierce’s suitcase, which holds secrets from everyone including its owner.

When their worlds collide, their lives intertwine and when the world seems bent on bringing the two souls to their knees, fate has other plans for them.

Dear Author, or On Romance and Chemistry

Dear Author,

Romance. Oh the ever so little reciprocated gestures that make the stomach flutter and the heart fall in love. Candle-light dinner by the moonlight, pic-nic on a hot summer day, weekend getaways, we all know what consitutes romance. And we write it. Not because our lives are necessarily lacking it, but because we love stories of love, stories of unlikely matches. Stories of broken people finding each other. Whatever the reason we write romance, it speaks to our hearts and those of our readers.

Yet there is an element no one ever prepares you for. Chemistry. You can never please everyone, they say, and it couldn’t be truer, especially when you read your readers’ impressions and there’s the formidable praise low-star review which congratulates you on your plot and characters, but they couldn’t see the chemistry between the love partners, they couldn’t see why they would fall in love.

At first, you cry. You wonder why didn’t you pay more attention? Why couldn’t you find a better way for your MCs (main characters) to fall in love? Then you are sad. Is that going to affect other buyers’? Are you going to lose sales because you failed to impress a few readers with the chemistry (or lack, thereof)?

And then you go back to your book and you think “I couldn’t have written this any better”. You’re not arrogant. You just know your characters and what makes them tick, and on this occasion, fall in love. And then you get another review, who loved everything, the romance, the story, even the chemistry. And you sit and wonder. Can I ever please everybody?

You go through your life and think of how you fall in love and what it takes. It doesn’t take more than a chat. More than a kiss. More than gaze into his eyes. For some it’s the sexual encounter, the physical attraction. And then the chemistry. Do other people always think you are a great match with your whichever partner? No. Hell, sometimes even you wonder whether you are a fit. But it works for you, no matter how crazy. It might not work for someone else. Two people aren’t the same and so is true about couples.

So…chemistry, just as the same is true in real life, so is true in books. No one reader will read the same book and the same characters. So instead of worrying about pleasing everyone, focus on your next mind-blowing romance. Whether in real-life or in fiction.

Yours truly,

An author

Links

About the Author

Chris Ethan is a book whore. He enjoys selling his feelings for money and other pleasures and is blatantly unashamed to do so for as long as he breathes. Chris Ethan is also a persona for Rhys Christopher Ethan, author of fantasy and sci-fi. He uses Chris Ethan to share stories of adult queer romance with those who need it. Before you delve into his books however, be warned. He likes putting his characters through shitstorms and hates anything conventional. But then there’s that darned happy-ever-after. Also, he likes swearing. Deal with it!

Farewell Giveaway
I have a number of paperbacks, most of which are signed, to giveaway. Over the between now (11 Mar 2017) and 31 Mar 2017, every comment on the blog (this post and all other new posts), will be entered to win 1 of these paperbacks. There are also some misc swag items, so there will be a few packs of these to give away as well.

Thank you so much for your support over the last 4 years. Prism will be closing its doors on 1 April 2017. All content will remain available, but no new content will appear after 31 Mar 2017. As such all request forms have been turned off. Again Thank you,